1 Chronicles 29:11-12

29:11 O Lord, you are great, mighty, majestic, magnificent, glorious, and sovereign ¹  over all the sky and earth! You have dominion and exalt yourself as the ruler ²  of all. 29:12 You are the source of wealth and honor; ³  you rule over all. You possess strength and might to magnify and give strength to all. ⁴ 

Psalms 33:6

33:6 By the Lord’s decree ⁵  the heavens were made;

by a mere word from his mouth all the stars in the sky were created. ⁶ 

Proverbs 16:4

16:4 The Lord works ⁷  everything for its own ends ⁸  –

even the wicked for the day of disaster. ⁹ 

Daniel 2:20-23

2:20 saying, ¹⁰ 

“Let the name of God ¹¹  be praised ¹²  forever and ever,

for wisdom and power belong to him.

2:21 He changes times and seasons,

deposing some kings

and establishing others. ¹³ 

He gives wisdom to the wise;

he imparts knowledge to those with understanding; ¹⁴ 

2:22 he reveals deep and hidden things.

He knows what is in the darkness,

and light resides with him.

2:23 O God of my fathers, I acknowledge and glorify you,

for you have bestowed wisdom and power on me.

Now you have enabled me to understand what I ¹⁵  requested from you.

For you have enabled me to understand the king’s dilemma.” ¹⁶ 

Daniel 4:3

4:3 “How great are his signs!

How mighty are his wonders!

His kingdom will last forever, ¹⁷ 

and his authority continues from one generation to the next.”

Daniel 4:34

4:34 But at the end of the appointed time ¹⁸  I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up ¹⁹  toward heaven, and my sanity returned to me.

I extolled the Most High,

and I praised and glorified the one who lives forever.

For his authority is an everlasting authority,

and his kingdom extends from one generation to the next.

Matthew 6:13

6:13 And do not lead us into temptation, ²⁰  but deliver us from the evil one. ²¹ 

Acts 17:25-26

17:25 nor is he served by human hands, as if he needed anything, ²²  because he himself gives life and breath and everything to everyone. ²³  17:26 From one man ²⁴  he made every nation of the human race ²⁵  to inhabit the entire earth, ²⁶  determining their set times ²⁷  and the fixed limits of the places where they would live, ²⁸ 

Acts 17:28

17:28 For in him we live and move about ²⁹  and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’ ³⁰ 

Acts 17:1

Paul and Silas at Thessalonica

17:1 After they traveled through ³¹  Amphipolis ³²  and Apollonia, ³³  they came to Thessalonica, ³⁴  where there was a Jewish synagogue. ³⁵ 

Colossians 1:6

1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel ³⁶  is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing ³⁷  among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.

Ephesians 4:6-10

4:6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

4:7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 4:8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he captured ³⁸  captives; he gave gifts to men.” ³⁹  4:9 Now what is the meaning of “he ascended,” except that he also descended ⁴⁰  to the lower regions, ⁴¹  namely, the earth? ⁴²  4:10 He, the very one ⁴³  who descended, is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things.

Colossians 1:15-17

The Supremacy of Christ

1:15 ⁴⁴ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn ⁴⁵  over all creation, ⁴⁶ 

1:16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, ⁴⁷  whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him.

1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together ⁴⁸  in him.

Revelation 21:6

21:6 He also said to me, “It is done! ⁴⁹  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the one who is thirsty I will give water ⁵⁰  free of charge ⁵¹  from the spring of the water of life.

[29:11]  ¹ tn The words “and sovereign” are added in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[29:11]  ² tn Heb “head.”

[29:12]  ³ tn Heb “wealth and honor [are] from before you.”

[29:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “and in your hand [is] strength and might and in your hand to magnify and to give strength to all.”

[33:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “word.”

[33:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “and by the breath of his mouth all their host.” The words “were created” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons; they are understood by ellipsis (note “were made” in the preceding line). The description is consistent with Gen 1:16, which indicates that God spoke the heavenly luminaries into existence.

[16:4]  ⁷ sn The Hebrew verb translated “works” (פָּעַל, pa’al) means “to work out; to bring about; to accomplish.” It is used of God’s sovereign control of life (e.g., Num 23:23; Isa 26:12).

[16:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “for its answer.” The term לַמַּעֲנֵהוּ (lamma’anehu) has been taken to mean either “for his purpose” or “for its answer.” The Hebrew word is מַעֲנֶה (ma’aneh, “answer”) and not לְמַעַן (lÿma’an, “purpose”). So the suffix likely refers to “everything” (כֹּל, kol). God ensures that everyone’s actions and the consequences of those actions correspond – certainly the wicked for the day of calamity. In God’s order there is just retribution for every act.

[16:4]  ⁹ sn This is an example of synthetic parallelism (“A, what’s more B”). The A-line affirms a truth, and the B-line expands on it with a specific application about the wicked – whatever disaster comes their way is an appropriate correspondent for their life.

[2:20]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “Daniel answered and said.”

[2:20]  ¹¹ sn As is often the case in the Bible, here the name represents the person.

[2:20]  ¹² tn Or “blessed.”

[2:21]  ¹³ tn Aram “kings.”

[2:21]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “the knowers of understanding.”

[2:23]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “we.” Various explanations have been offered for the plural, but it is probably best understood as the editorial plural; so also with “me” later in this verse.

[2:23]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “the word of the king.”

[4:3]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.”

[4:34]  ¹⁸ tn Aram “days.”

[4:34]  ¹⁹ tn Aram “lifted up my eyes.”

[6:13]  ²⁰ tn Or “into a time of testing.”

[6:13]  ²¹ tc Most mss (L W Θ 0233 ˹³ 33 Ï sy sa Didache) read (though some with slight variation) ὅτι σοῦ ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία καὶ ἡ δύναμις καὶ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, ἀμήν (“for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, amen”) here. The reading without this sentence, though, is attested by generally better witnesses (א B D Z 0170 ˹ pc lat mae Or). The phrase was probably composed for the liturgy of the early church and most likely was based on 1 Chr 29:11-13; a scribe probably added the phrase at this point in the text for use in public scripture reading (see TCGNT 13-14). Both external and internal evidence argue for the shorter reading.

[17:25]  ²² tn L&N 57.45 has “nor does he need anything more that people can supply by working for him.”

[17:25]  ²³ tn Grk “he himself gives to all [people] life and breath and all things.”

[17:26]  ²⁴ sn The one man refers to Adam (the word “man” is understood).

[17:26]  ²⁵ tn Or “mankind.” BDAG 276 s.v. ἔθνος 1 has “every nation of humankind Ac 17:26.”

[17:26]  ²⁶ tn Grk “to live over all the face of the earth.”

[17:26]  ²⁷ tn BDAG 884-85 s.v. προστάσσω has “(οἱ) προστεταγμένοι καιροί (the) fixed times Ac 17:26” here, but since the following phrase is also translated “fixed limits,” this would seem redundant in English, so the word “set” has been used instead.

[17:26]  ²⁸ tn Grk “the boundaries of their habitation.” L&N 80.5 has “fixed limits of the places where they would live” for this phrase.

[17:28]  ²⁹ tn According to L&N 15.1, “A strictly literal translation of κινέω in Ac 17:28 might imply merely moving from one place to another. The meaning, however, is generalized movement and activity; therefore, it may be possible to translate κινούμεθα as ‘we come and go’ or ‘we move about’’ or even ‘we do what we do.’”

[17:28]  ³⁰ sn This quotation is from Aratus (ca. 310-245 b.c.), Phaenomena 5. Paul asserted a general relationship and accountability to God for all humanity.

[17:1]  ³¹ tn BDAG 250 s.v. διοδεύω 1 has “go, travel through” for this verse.

[17:1]  ³² sn Amphipolis. The capital city of the southeastern district of Macedonia (BDAG 55 s.v. ᾿Αμφίπολις). It was a military post. From Philippi this was about 33 mi (53 km).

[17:1]  ³³ sn Apollonia was a city in Macedonia about 27 mi (43 km) west southwest of Amphipolis.

[17:1]  ³⁴ sn Thessalonica (modern Salonica) was a city in Macedonia about 33 mi (53 km) west of Apollonia. It was the capital of Macedonia. The road they traveled over was called the Via Egnatia. It is likely they rode horses, given their condition in Philippi. The implication of v. 1 is that the two previously mentioned cities lacked a synagogue.

[17:1]  ³⁵ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[1:6]  ³⁶ tn Grk “just as in the entire world it is bearing fruit.” The antecedent (“the gospel”) of the implied subject (“it”) of ἐστιν (estin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:6]  ³⁷ tn Though the participles are periphrastic with the present tense verb ἐστίν (estin), the presence of the temporal indicator “from the day” in the next clause indicates that this is a present tense that reaches into the past and should be translated as “has been bearing fruit and growing.” For a discussion of this use of the present tense, see ExSyn 519-20.

[4:8]  ³⁸ tn Grk “he led captive captivity.”

[4:8]  ³⁹ sn A quotation which is perhaps ultimately derived from Ps 68:18. However, the wording here differs from that of Ps 68 in both the Hebrew text and the LXX in a few places, the most significant of which is reading “gave gifts to” in place of “received gifts from” as in HT and LXX. It has sometimes been suggested that the author of Ephesians modified the text he was citing in order to better support what he wanted to say here. Such modifications are sometimes found in rabbinic exegesis from this and later periods, but it is also possible that the author was simply citing a variant of Ps 68 known to him but which has not survived outside its quotation here (W. H. Harris, The Descent of Christ [AGJU 32], 104). Another possibility is that the words here, which strongly resemble Ps 68:19 HT and LXX (68:18 ET), are actually part of an early Christian hymn quoted by the author.

[4:9]  ⁴⁰ tc The majority of mss (א² B C³ Ψ Ï) read πρῶτον (prwton, “first”) here in conjunction with this verb: “he first descended.” The shorter reading, which lacks πρῶτον, should be considered original on the basis of both external and internal evidence: It has strong external support from the Alexandrian and Western texttypes (Ì⁴⁶ א* A C* D F G I^vid 082 6 33 81 1739 1881 pc); internally, the inclusion of πρῶτον is most likely an addition to clarify the sense of the passage.

[4:9]  ⁴¹ tc The Western texttype (D* F G it) lacks the plural noun μέρη (merh, “regions”); the shorter reading cannot be dismissed out of hand since it is also supported by Ì⁴⁶ (which often has strong affinities, however, with the Western text). The inclusion of the word has strong external support from important, early mss as well as the majority of Byzantine cursives (א A B C D² I Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï). Certain scribes may have deleted the word, thinking it superfluous; in addition, if the shorter reading were original one would expect to see at least a little variation in clarifying additions to the text. For these reasons the inclusion of μέρη should be regarded as original.

[4:9]  ⁴² tn Grk “to the lower parts of the earth.” This phrase has been variously interpreted: (1) The traditional view understands it as a reference to the underworld (hell), where Jesus is thought to have descended in the three days between his death and resurrection. In this case, “of the earth” would be a partitive genitive. (2) A second option is to translate the phrase “of the earth” as a genitive of apposition: “to the lower parts, namely, the earth” (as in the present translation). Many recent scholars hold this view and argue that it is a reference to the incarnation. (3) A third option, which also sees the phrase “of the earth” as a genitive of apposition, is that the descent in the passage occurs after the ascent rather than before it, and refers to the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost (cf. Acts 4:11-16). Support for this latter view is found in the intertestamental and rabbinic use of Ps 68:18 (quoted in v. 8), which is consistently and solely interpreted as a reference to Moses’ ascent of Mt. Sinai to “capture” the words of the law. The probability, therefore, is that the comments here in v. 9 reflect a polemic against the interpretation of Ps 68:18 in certain circles as a reference to Moses. See W. H. Harris, The Descent of Christ (AGJU 32), 46-54; 171-204.

[4:10]  ⁴³ tn The Greek text lays specific emphasis on “He” through the use of the intensive pronoun, αὐτός (autos). This is reflected in the English translation through the use of “the very one.”

[1:15]  ⁴⁴ sn This passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.

[1:15]  ⁴⁵ tn The Greek term πρωτότοκος (prwtotokos) could refer either to first in order of time, such as a first born child, or it could refer to one who is preeminent in rank. M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 43, expresses the meaning of the word well: “The ‘firstborn’ was either the eldest child in a family or a person of preeminent rank. The use of this term to describe the Davidic king in Ps 88:28 LXX (=Ps 89:27 EVV), ‘I will also appoint him my firstborn (πρωτότοκον), the most exalted of the kings of the earth,’ indicates that it can denote supremacy in rank as well as priority in time. But whether the πρωτό- element in the word denotes time, rank, or both, the significance of the -τοκος element as indicating birth or origin (from τίκτω, give birth to) has been virtually lost except in ref. to lit. birth.” In Col 1:15 the emphasis is on the priority of Jesus’ rank as over and above creation (cf. 1:16 and the “for” clause referring to Jesus as Creator).

[1:15]  ⁴⁶ tn The genitive construction πάσης κτίσεως (pash" ktisew") is a genitive of subordination and is therefore translated as “over all creation.” See ExSyn 103-4.

[1:16]  ⁴⁷ tn BDAG 579 s.v. κυριότης 3 suggests “bearers of the ruling powers, dominions” here.

[1:17]  ⁴⁸ tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.

[21:6]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “It has happened.”

[21:6]  ⁵⁰ tn The word “water” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[21:6]  ⁵¹ tn Or “as a free gift” (see L&N 57.85).